Victoria & Daniel’s Wedding – Reception

The official reception celebrating the marriage of Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel was hosted by the King and Queen, and went until the wee hours of the morning.

View the image at Zimbio

The bride and groom entered the main hall of the Palace, before they and their guests tucked into sumptuous dinner consisting of Norwegian lobster, Landö char, Sirloin of veal from Stenhammar and strawberry mousse. Throughout the various portions of the evening which were televised by STV, the bride and groom appeared in high spirits and all the guests chatted away merrily.

View the Bunte gallery

Around 11pm, it was time for the speeches. Olle Westling, King Carl Gustaf and Prince Daniel had the honours. King Carl Gustaf was first, beginning with wishing the bride and groom all the best for their future together. “From now on, your first loyalty will be to one another. We as parents take joy in the affection by which you look at each other. But…the joy of seeing one’s children standing on their own to build their families, is also spiced with a touch of grief. I wish that you also one day will be able to experience such happiness that we feel today,” the King continued, a not-so-subtle hint for grandchildren. Princess Victoria’s role as successor to the Swedish crown was then mentioned in the speech, Carl Gustaf saying that he is put at ease when he sees the wisdom and determination Victoria possesses – something he shares with the Swedish people. “I am your father. You are my beloved daughter. No one should believe anything else than that my highest wish has always been – and is – to see you happy…I have today seeked to make this point clear by accompanying you to your future husband, and thereby confirming the decision to approve of your marriage according to our constitution.” The King then spoke warmly of Daniel, welcoming him to his family – as well as his parents and sister. And before he gave up the floor, Carl Gustaf surprised his own wife with a pink rose to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary.

View the Bunte gallery

Mr Westling went second, praising both his son and new daughter-in-law. “Many people see the fact that you met and fell in love as something of a fairytale. The man of the people who won the Crown Princess,” he said, before going on to speak of his only son. Mr Westling spoke of how proud he, his wife and daughter were of Daniel – even though he “never became a professional hockey player”, he said with a laugh. Olle then spoke to Daniel and Victoria as a couple – “I will refrain from giving any other advice about how to keep your love alive. You have already proven that you know what to do…No-one who meets you can fail to see the deep love and sincere respect that you have for each other.” Mr Westling ended his speech by thanking the hosts for the wonderful evening, and for welcoming them to their family.

View the Bunte gallery

Prince Daniel was the last to speak, in an emotional speech to his new wife, in both English and Swedish – memorised to boot – beginning with describing Victoria as the “Princess of my heart.” Daniel quickly went into a private anecdote about his relationship with Victoria, showing the guests the side of Victoria he saw. “There have been times when Victoria’s official duties have separated us. Often taking her to far away countries and continents. I will never forget some years ago, when she left for one of her many trips. This time to China. We were going to be apart for a whole month. The night before she left, she got home late from an official engagement, and she had many preparations to make for the long month of duties ahead. Instead of getting some valuable sleep, she stayed up the whole night…writing. In the morning after she had gone, I found a box. And in that box, I found 30 beautiful letters addressed to me. One for every day she would be away,” Daniel described, earning claps and ‘awws’ from the guests – and a laugh from his bride.

Prince Daniel then went on to thank the King and Queen for their support and warm welcome to their family; before thanking his own parents for everything they had done for him. He then promised to do his utmost to live up to the expectations which have been placed on him as a Prince of Sweden, as Victoria’s husband. Towards the end of his speech, the groom paused several times to wipe tears off his bride’s face and hold her hand tightly. Daniel then ended his speech by asking all the guests to join him in a toast “to my wonderful bride.”

View the image at Zimbio

View the image at Zimbio

Then it was time for the wedding cake! A magnificent 3.3m, 11 tier cake in light blue and gold shaped like four-left clovers was designed and made by the Swedish Association of Bakers & Confectioners as a gift to the couple. The cake weighed an astonishing 25okgs, and was cut by the bride and groom as the clock neared midnight. It was then time for the wedding waltz, something that Victoria and Daniel had clearly (wisely) practised. They were later joined by their parents, and eventually all their guests.

And that concludes the wedding day of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, The Duke and Duchess of Västergötland.

What is the general reaction to singer Peter JÃ¶back and his spouse, Oscar Nilsson, waltzing together at the reception, as was reported at live blog http://www.thelocal.se/27328/20100619/? (They married in Sweden in 2007.) Surely this must be the first time a gay couple has done so at a royal wedding reception. I thought it was astonishing positive and very reflective of the live-and-let-live attitude of Sweden (generally speaking), as well as the bride and groom.